Thursday, August 1, 2013

Gigi Scaria’s artistic agenda

Born in Kerala, in 1973, Gigi Scaria is considered one among India's top new generation artists who have built a major international identity for themselves with shows in the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and America. He was one of the five select artists (along with Zarina Hashmi, Mriganka Madhukaillya, Praneet Soi and Sonal Jain) who represented the country at the 2011Venice Biennale.

He has produced several large-scale major public sculptures like ‘Wheel’ (2009), showcased at the India Art Summit (IAS). In 2012, the artist traveled to New Zealand to take part in ‘Topical heat: new art from south Asia’, and also to the village of Nees in Denmark, for the ‘Banner project’ there. Here's a quick look at Gigi Scaria’s artistic agenda:

The imaginative and visual richness of Indian literature has also had a strong influence on his artistic creativity. The interpretation of his art—including the constructions and perceptions projected by the audience—evokes a complex web of individual and collective experiences relating to sub-continental migration, society, and political activities that are embedded in artistic, cultural, and literary traditions.

Through his paintings, sculptures, photography and videos, he creates environments of the future and reinterprets the human relationship to modern progress. He constructs imaginary architectures, unfamiliar landscapes, and humorous film scenarios where people are often trapped inside or excluded from built structures such as apartment buildings or lifts.

Elaborating on his underlying artistic motives, he states, “Ever since civilization was formed and nurtured, the city has become a fascinating phenomenon. The world started to live up to its expectations and it (the city) continuously demanded a space, character and logic of its own. This was necessary in order to meet the aspirations of an urban nomad.

“Notions of politics, identity, nationalism, industrialization, crime, madness, spirituality, modernism, lifestyle and anything and everything the human being have been proud to assert as his/her own are produced and consumed by the city on a constant basis." According to the artist, indulging in the core of urban life made the urbanite think of himself/herself as a romantic outsider to the system they deeply inhaled.